Tuesday

NASA Might Have Discovered 20 Habitable Planets Lying Just Next Door

While the Kepler space telescope's data collecting ability was severely handicapped by the failure of two of its four reaction wheels on July 14 2012 and May 11 2013 respectively, it has certainly revolutionized the search for exoplanets with its discovery of more than 2300 confirmed exoplanets and another 4,496 unconfirmed alien worlds.

A new analysis of Kepler's data collected in its first few operational years preceding the wheel accident, has revealed the existence of 20 potential exoplanets that may actually be able to harbor alien life.

The discovered alien worlds form a list of potential exoplanets that orbit sun-like stars. In order for an exoplanet to be considered a viable candidate for extraterrestrial life, it needs to orbit its star in the habitable zone. The habitable zone simply means that the planet should orbit its host star at the right distance to allow for the existence of liquid water on ts surface. The discovered planets' orbital periods range from 18 Earth days to 395 days.

The exoplanet that make a full orbit around its star every 395 Earth days is particularly interesting since it is only 3 percent smaller than Earth. Nicknamed KOI-7923.01, it revolves around a star that is slightly colder than our sun, making its surface temperature similar to the colder regions on Earth. Being a little colder than Earth doesn't completely rule KOI-7923.01 out from being Earth 2.0 as it is still warm enough and big enough to support liquid water, which is a necessary ingredient for the development of life.

The scientists are confident that there is a 70 to 80 percent chance that these newly identified planets are sound candidates for life. However, their existence can't be confirmed yet, as their discovery is only based on the original data set that was sent by Kepler's original mission, which lasted from the spacecraft's launch in 2009 until the failure of its second reaction wheel in 2013. The failed wheels made it very difficult to point the telescope accurately, meaning the researchers need to collect more data from other sources such as ground-based observatories or the Hubble Space Telescope to formally confirm these alien worlds.